By Journal State House BureauPublished February 2nd 2009 in The Providence Journal

Allegations
that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat
vacated by President Obama prompted the filing of legislation here to
strip Rhode Island’s governor of the power to appoint replacement U.S.
senators.

The bill introduced by freshman Rep. Christopher
Fierro, D-Woonsocket, would require a special election to choose a
successor to any U.S. senator who dies in office or resigns in mid-term.

“U.S.
Senate seats belong to the voters. No one person, regardless of his or
her party affiliation, should get to decide who is going to represent
the entire state in the Senate,” said Fierro, in a statement issued by
the General Assembly press office. “Inevitably, politics are going to
play a role in that appointment, and that’s not how the Senate is meant
to be constituted. The 17th Amendment was meant to stop the Senate from
being a body of politically appointees and turn it into one whose
members are directly elected, and in that spirit we should adopt this
legislation.”

The bill (H 5094) would require that special
election unless the vacancy occurs after July 1 of an election year. In
that case, the vacancy would be filled during the regular general
electoral cycle.

Former U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee first went to
Washington as an appointee of then-Gov. Lincoln C. Almond, after the
death of his father, John H. Chafee. A version of Fierro’s bill was
introduced last year after speculation arose that Senator Reed, a
Democrat, might step down to take a Cabinet position in an Obama
administration. That would have left the appointment to Republican
Governor Carcieri.